Music, Culture & Technology.

April 17, 2018May 8, 2018

Ratpack Rewind: The (Almost) Lost Art of the Rave MC.

When you grow up you get tons of lousy advice from grown ups. Like, “Eat carrots! They’ll help you see in the dark!” or “If you fart and feel embarrassed, just start beatboxing and no-one will notice.” One piece of advice that I think has actually held it’s value for me over the years is to find what you love, what gives you the most pleasure in life and pursue it with vigour and as much passion as you can muster.

For the DJ/MC duo Ratpack from London, it looks like they’re safe as houses in that department. Like alot of happy accidents, DJ Lipmaster Mark and MC Evenson Allen fell into it when they picked up the mike and manned the decks one fateful night at Trip City in North London. This happened to be at the peak of the Acid House years in the UK, with soundsystem parties igniting the rave phenomenon and paving the way for a proper dance culture revolution. They started in 87 and are still going strong. True story!

Just last year, the duo have returned to release a new track. Check out the fittingly titled Hands of Time below. If you’re interested in reading and listening to more MC sets from the old rave days, author Ian McQuaid gives a great analysis of some of the greats on Ransom Note.

Here are two more Ratpack hardcore classics, guaranteed to make you feel good. Another classic ode to Joe Smooth’s iconic tune, followed by Liquid’s Sweet Harmony breakbeat anthem.

Finding what you love is important kids. Everything else flows from that. Oh, and eat your veggies.

Ratpack will be performing at this summer’s One Dance Festival alongside rave legends Nicky Blackmarket, Slipmatt and a whole wack of other peeps. Get your tickets here
.
Side Note – Ratpack also have a kickass store with dope gear. Support the Ratpack and keep the old skool alive by dropping some coin.

Share this:

Related

Published by Colm Hogan

Colm Hogan is Chief Contributor and Publisher at DG. He's written books (Ice Cold Nights, Crack Whore Pickup), and made films (Matatu Express, The Legend of 23 Hop, Back To The Zone).
His work in historical urban culture preservation has been featured in Vice, Now Magazine and BlogTO along with Denise Benson's Then & Now and Sara Gwendolyn Ross' Law & Intangible Cultural Heritage in the City. View all posts by Colm Hogan

Post navigation

About DG

Digitized Graffiti was founded in 2010 and features the very best of music, culture and technology. DG is a non-commercial site and has to date continued to remain advertisement free. If you have an idea for a story or wish to submit your music, feel free to email me here: colmhogan(AT)gmail(DOT)com.

Colm Hogan is Chief Contributor and Publisher at DG. He's written books (Ice Cold Nights, Crack Whore Pickup), and made films (Matatu Express, The Legend of 23 Hop, Back To The Zone). His work in historical urban culture preservation has been featured in Vice, Now Magazine and BlogTO along with Denise Benson's Then & Now and Sara Gwendolyn Ross' Law & Intangible Cultural Heritage in the City.